My Journey With Weight Loss – What I Have Learned In The Past Week

The past week has been very difficult for my family, especially my brother, but I have decided to learn as much as I can from this experience. Below, in no particular order, is a list of what I have learned.

1. A lower leg amputation takes only about 45 minutes. I was shocked at how quick the surgery was.
2. The day after surgery you will be sitting up in a wheelchair.
3. The first exercise they have you work on is standing up just using your remaining leg. My brother said this was really hard. I decided to give it a try recognizing my legs are pretty buff and my brother’s weight distribution is different due to the missing limb. Wasn’t bad with my good leg but it was a bit of a struggle with my bad leg.
4. The next exercise (day 2 post surgery) is learning to get yourself from the bed into the wheelchair on your own which apparently is also pretty tough.
5. When you first see the ‘stump’ it will appear more of the leg was taken than actually was.
6. If you are a support person for an amputee you need to be mentally strong. It took every ounce of my strength not to breakdown when I first saw that stump.
7. As a support person you need to know when to reach out for help. This isn’t just getting some mental support. For example, my physio was amazing explaining what to expect next for the physical rehab.
8. Physical rehab will take at least 4-6 weeks assuming all goes well. Fortunately they are trying to transfer my brother to a hospital that is only about a mile from our home.
9. Humour is a must. The medical staff completed the forms to get my brother a 3 month handicap parking pass noting his disability was temporary. I asked if they thought his leg was going to grow back in 3 months 😀
10. Running is a great stress reliever (words I never thought I would say).
11. My brother has a huge group of supporters who have reached out to him and offered to help our family with anything we need.
12. My brother is the strongest person that I know. He is patient, kind, calm and ready to do what it takes to eventually allow him to come home.

I know this blog is a bit off topic but writing all of this has made me feel better. These learnings are actually part of my journey now and I am committed to learning more as this rehabilitation process continues.